Production of nitrous compounds.



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PATENTED SEPT. 10, 19(

0. P, STEINMBTZ. PRODUCTION OF NITROUS COMPOUNDS.

APPLICATION FILED APB-20.1007.

I m/ent or Charles P. Steinmey Q;

FIYFRJ ca, IlanNGYON. 04 c UNITED STATES ()FFICI CHARLES P. STEINMETZ, 0F SGHENEGTADY, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO GENERAL COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

PRODUCTION OF NITROUS COMPOUNDS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept.

Application filed April 20, 1907. Serial No. 369,263.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES P. S'rErNMETz, a citizen of the United States. residing at Schenectady, county of Schenectady, State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Production of Nitrous Compounds, of which the following is a specification.

My invention has reference to a process of and apparatus for manufacturing nitrous compounds from atmospheric air by exposing the air to the action of an electric arc of minimum volume and greatest practicable length.

Heretoiore it has been deemed necessary or the practical and efficient production of nitrous compounds from atmospheric air to employ a large number of arcs simultaneously which were established without actual initial contact. These arcs. therefore, when first established, were of short length and were then drawn out to their maximum length until they broke. This establishing, lengthening and breaking of the arcs was repeated in rapid recurrent successions, while the air from which the compounds were to be produced was drawn to and past the arcs in a continuous stream, which carried off the nitrous compounds that had been produced, so that they were not acted upon again to any appreciable extent by the arcs. This old process, requiring as it does the use of a great number of electric arcs and of high tension currents, is expensive and troublesome, and the apparatus employed is liable to get out of order, and. owing to the multiplicity of the arcs employed, the readjustments or repairs are exceedingly troublesome and time-consuming, since ordinarily, the whole apparatus has to be taken to pieces for this purpose. ",By my invention, these ditficultics are overcome by tlmym a single electric are maintained by direct current, and which arc is deflected or drawn out laterally, magnetically, to a distance within which it can be safely maintained, and it is also magnetically rotated within its sphere of action, so that it sweeps through the air which is to be converted into nitrous compounds.

In the accompanying drawing, which forms a part of this specification, the apparatus adapted'ior the practics of the process is illustrated as follows:

Figure 1 represents an elevation of the apparatus as a whole, showing the converting chamber and its appurtenances in vertical section; Fig. 2 is a horizontal section of the converting chamber and its appurtenances; and Fig. 3 is a diagram of another form of apparatus that may be employed.

Like numerals of reference indicate like partsIhieifihout the drawing.

Referring to Figs. 1 and 2. thd cylindrical air chamher 1 of insulating material, such as glass or porcelain,

is provided with a removable cover 2 and 3 by which the chamber is supported t held by radial arms 5, the outer ends of cured to an annulus 6 which is supportet ards 7. Any other mode of supporting tl may be used.

In the bottom of the chamber there is surmounted by a short, inwardly projecti there may be a number of such openings 2 the admission of air, which is drawn into through these openings by a suitable pum ed with a tube 10 which passes through the chamber. The suction pump and ti disposing of the mixture of air and nitrou which is drawn from the chamber form r invention, and the pump is therefore 0 matically indicated.

In the center of the bottom of the air formed asuitable opening for the insertio trode l1, and a similar opening is provide ter of the cover 2 for the insertion of the and the usual means are provided for electrodes in position. These electrodes 1 of any suitable material for establishing a ing an electric are between them, such as r stance, but other materials are available.

Below the chamber 1 is mounted a fi having suitable bearings for a vertical sl carries a pulley 15 driven by a belt 16 fro] by an electric motor 18. Any other mea the shaft 14 by the electric motor may i To the upper free end of the shaft 14 is sec or cage formed with our upwardly an curved arms 19, upon the free ends of whi ed the ring yoke 20 of the electromagne legs of which project inwardly toward the so that the magnetic flux passes substant angles to the axis of the arc. The extend largely surround the air chamber, substai manner in which the field poles of an elect round the armature.

The circuit connections in this appara' lows :-The current. from any suitable so current, enters the motor by the mind passes by conductor 23 and brush 24, col and conductor 26. to the winding of one it tromagnet, and by conductor 27 to the w other leg of the electromagnet; then by cc collector ring 29, and by brush 30 and co the electrode 12, through the arc to the and by conductor 32 back to the generatc noticed that part of the conductor 32 pa: outer face of the air chamber which, for may have a longitudinal groove formed in Fig. 2, at 33. The con ucto 3 2 is lodged in roove, so that it will not project beyond the outer f the air chamber. in be seen that by the construction described, the ttor (not shown), the motor, the electromagnets le electrodes between which the arc is established in series. The consequence of this arrangement the resistance of the are largely controls the speed motor. The rotating electromagnets have the 2 function of deflecting the are as shown in the 1g, and of rotating the are about the common axis two electrodes, so that this are sweeps through the l part of the space of the air chamber and acts ;he air to produce a chemical combination bethe nitrogen and oxygen to produce mostly gasiitrous compounds, which are drawn off by the i. If any small quantities of liquid nitrogen coma should form, which may sometimes happen, the 'ill accumulate at the bottom of the air chamber my be drawn off, at long intervals, in any desired r. The inwardly projecting short tube 9 at the g 8 in the bottom of the air chamber is provided ent the untimely discharge of liquid nitrogen inds which, coming in contact with the metallic s of the apparatus, might injure the same. re starting the apparatus, the upper electrode is act with the lower one. When the current is l to pass, the upper electrode 11 is slowly drawn stablish the arc of such length as is suited to the of the current employed, and the windings and ions of the magnets are 'so proportioned that the 1m practicable deflection of the arc is obtained. been found that when an arc is laterally deby a magnet, it displays a tendency to creep electrodes, above and below, respectively, the etween which the arc is primarily established. :ults in disfigurement of the electrodes by the f the are. In order to prevent such disfigurehe electromagnets are formed with subsidiary ces 34, two for each main pole piece, and arvn opposite sides of the vertical diameter of the lagnet cores, and outside of the winding of the lhese subsidiary pole pieces (which are, of magnetically connected with the yoke the opposite polarity from that of the main ces, so that they act to repel the are at the F the electrodes when the main pole piece acts :t the central portion of the arc, and vice [n this manner the arc, while being powerlged out in one direction, has no tendency to and down, respectively, on the body of the as. This refinement of construction is not abnecessary, since it is quite practicable to do .t. tation of the deflected arc serves the double if extending the sphere of action of the arc and lg the time within which the arc acts upon any E the air which passes through the converting If the arc were allowed to act upon the y of air for a longer time than is required to the chemical combination of nitrogen and t would cause a dissociation of the combinaould to a considerable extent undo the work has done. This is the reason why, in the former practices, the numerous arcs employed were each mantained for a short period only, so as to allow the removal of the nitrous compounds from the sphere of action of the arcs during the intervals between the successive arcs. The same result is secured by the rotation of the deflected arc in accordance with my invention, since thereby, the arc is continuously removed from the body of the air upon which it has once acted, and this with a practically uniform speed which is determined by the normal speed of the motor.

If for any reason the motor speed should increase, its increased counter-electromotive force would weaken .the deflecting magnet and reduce the deflection of the arc, so that its peripheral speed would remain practically the same as before. If, on the other hand, the speed of the motor should, for any reason, momentarily drop, the reduced counter-electromotive force would strengthen the magnet and increase the deflection of the arc, so that its peripheral speed would again remain practically the same as before.

Instead of causing the deflection and rotation of the arc by a rotary magnetic flux produced by mechanically rotated magnets, the same effect may be produced by a rotary magnetic field produced by multiphase currents, in the ordinary well known manner. This is diagrammatically indicated in Fig. 3, where 35 represents a rotary field winding energized by three-phase currents derived from the lines 36 in the usual manner. If this winding is substituted in the construction indicated in Fig. 1 for the rotating magnets there shown, the same result will be produced as with the employment of mechanically rotated magnets. In this case, a separate source 37 of direct current must be employed for feeding the are between the electrodes 11 and 12, so that while this modification of apparatus is simpler than the one represented in Figs. 1 and 2, it requires two sources of current, one multiphase and the other direct, and for this reason the slightly more complex structure is the preferable one.

It will be understood that instead of using atmos- 10 pheric air for the production of the nitrous compounds, any other gas mixture containing nitrogen and oxygen in suitable quantities may be employed.

' What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters 1. The process of producing nitrous compounds, which consists in rotating :1 deflected electric are within a current of air.

2. The process of producing nitrous compounds, which consists in causing a current of atmospheric air and rotating within the same a deflected electric arc,

3. The process of producing the chemical combination of nitrogen and oxygen. which consists in establishing an electric arc of minimum volume and maximum length, deflecting and rotating the are magnetically, and causing a current of atmospheric air to pass through the space of rotation of the are.

4. The process of producing/the chemical combination of nitrogen and oxygen, which consists in establishing an electric are, causing a rotating magnetic flux to pass substantially at right angles to the axis of the arc, and passing a current of atmospheric air through or past the are.

5. An apparatus for the manufacture of nitrous compounds, consisting of means for producing a current of air, and means for rotating and deflecting an electric arc IPatent of the United States, is, 110

within the air current.

a ca

i l i l 6. An apparatus for producing the chemical comhlna- 5 niugnoilc flux substantially at right angles to the axis tion of nltrogcn and oxygi-n. composed of moans for esthe arc. and moans for passing :1 currcm of ntniosphc tziblishing an electric. arc of minimum volume and lllllXi- 3 air through and past tho arc.

mum length. means for doflecting and rotating the arc i In witness whorcul, I havo horcunio set my hand i magnetically, :uid moans for causing :1 current of atmos- 19th day of April, 1907.

pheric air to pass through the space of rotation of the arc '7. An apparatus for producing the chemical combination of nitrogen and oxygen composed of means for cstublishing an electric are, means for passing a rotating CHARLES P. STEINMETZ \Viinosscs BENJAMIN B. HULL, HELEN QRFURD. 

